The =lumbricales= are absent, unless we regard as such the muscular
bundles which arise on the deep flexor and are inserted into the
superficial flexor tendon at the carpus.
The =interosseus medius= or suspensory ligament is somewhat more
muscular than in the horse; indeed, in the young subject it may be
almost entirely fleshy. Its arrangement is somewhat complex. Single at
its origin, it detaches about the middle of the metacarpus a band which
joins the tendon of the superficial flexor and concurs near the fetlock
in the formation of the ring for the deep flexor tendon. A little lower
down it divides into three and then into five branches. The lateral
branches (two pairs) are attached to the corresponding sesamoids and
tendons of the proper extensors, while the middle branch passes through
the sulcus at the distal end of the metacarpus and bifurcates, each
division fusing with the tendon of the corresponding proper extensor.
[Illustration: